The present invention relates generally to business process tracking, and more particularly to creating mechanical stamps to produce machine-readable optical labels.
Quick Response (QR) code is a type of matrix barcode first designed for the automotive industry in Japan. A barcode is a machine-readable optical label that contains information about the item to which it is attached. A QR code uses four standardized encoding modes, including a numeric mode, an alphanumeric mode, a bit (binary) mode, and a kanji mode, to efficiently store data.
QR code systems became popular outside the automotive industry due to faster readability and greater storage capacity compared to a standard Universal Product Code (UPC) barcodes. Applications for QR code systems include product tracking, item identification, time tracking, document management, and general marketing, etc.
A QR code consists of black modules (i.e., square dots) arranged in a square grid on a white background, which can be read by an imaging device, such as a camera, and processed, for example, by using Reed-Solomon error correction until the image can be appropriately interpreted. Data is extracted from patterns present in both horizontal and vertical components of the QR code.
In the current state of the art, production of two-dimensional (2D) machine-readable labels, such as a QR code, requires computation of the QR code by a computer at the time of the production of the QR code.